Girard, who has averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game since the beginning of his career, is not a third-pair defenseman. Jon Merrill is 33 years old and nowhere near having played 20 minutes per game. He barely saw 14 minutes per game in the regular season last year and just 12 minutes in the playoffs. Merrill played only two playoff games in the most recent postseason, and he was perfectly healthy. You want to drop Girard to the third pair and put Merrill on the second pair with Manson? So Girard is too small for the second pair but not too small for the third? Meanwhile, Merrill isn’t good enough to play on the second pair with the Wild or even dress for every playoff game, but he’s good enough to play on the second pair with the Avalanche? I’m very glad you’re not the GM of this team.

I didn’t make any assumptions about Makar and Toews, other than saying they were not going to be traded. Girard is a good player. He does bring a lot to the table. He is actually on a good contract for what defensemen are getting paid now. The problem is getting a return for him if traded and that the Avs seem to like having smaller puck moving defensemen (The Avs also seem to like small puck moving forwards too, but that is a different topic).

Until the front office begins to realize that as great as the cup winning team was, it was an anomaly. If the team could afford a bigger defensive minded player to take Girard’s spot on the 2nd pair, while keep Girard to be on the 3rd pair with Manson, I would be all for it. Unfortunately, the cap will most likely not allow that. Will we see the Avs getting someone like Jon Merrill to pair with Manson?

Your comment assumes that once Girard is traded, Makar and Toews will see their ice time reduced. I don’t believe that for a second. It seems the Avalanche’s hockey department doesn’t see things the way you do at all.Girard would have been traded a long time ago if his size were truly a problem in the playoffs. Lindgren, a left-handed defenseman, would have been favored over Girard. But we’re nowhere near that scenario. And as you said… Rantanen, Kadri, Compher, Burakovsky, and Coyle have all left, while Girard is still here. That should be an interesting point for you to reflect on.

Yeah, that one was a head scratcher plus a face palm. I wonder if Bednar had an issue with him.

The Avs brought in Sedlak, Hunt, and Blidh trying to replace Aube-Kubel.

Funny thing too, Aube-Kubel and Sturm were both available again as free agents and now Minnesota has them both. Avs brass is a head scratcher right now.

CMac – to paraphrase Tony Montana in Scarface, “That Cock-A-Roach. What did he ever do for us?” While I applaud the goalie tandem deals and the Nelson acquisition, the rest of the moves have been questionable and the lack of moves disappointing. I didn’t like giving up Coyle to move Wood but I still think the chemistry issue with MacKinnon had something to do with it.

My guess is that the powder is being kept dry and that CMac will attempt a bigger splash at the trade deadline this year. I still believe that Bednar should have been replaced. Nothing against the guy, personally, but it’s been the same old voice now for some time and the same ugly playoff exits. You don’t reward that lack of performance whether you believe the HC makes that much difference or not. Now if it were the Colorado Rockies, then it would be completely understood.

Agree. When healthy, Florida is looking at a 3rd line that has Marchand. Vegas may have Stone on the 3rd line. Even Dallas will have Benn on the 3rd line and while he is becoming an anchor, he is still bigger and scored more than anyone on the Avs 3rd line.

The Avs bottom 6 in the playoffs had Compher, Newhook, Aube-Kubel, Burakovsky, Cogliano, Helm, O’Connor, and Sturm to mix and match and play the best and healthiest for any game.

Get a good 3C and a big defenseman for the 3rd pair LD and the team can fill in a couple AHL’ers in the bottom 6 until O’Connor returns. Even someone like Heinen from Pittsburgh would be a better 3C than moving up Drury. He had 29 pts last year and 36 the year before. When O’Connor returns, the 3rd line could be Colton-Heinen-O’Connor. That would also keep Kelly and Drury on the 4th line. The team could then also afford Leasen for the 4th line, giving it some size and the AHL’ers can compete for the open 3rd spot, until O’Connor returns.

The issue with Girard is not is playing ability or his statistics, but his size come playoff time. The Avs defense is just too small overall. The team is not going to trade Makar and Toews, so to get bigger, someone has to move on. The teams moving farther in the playoffs than the Avs, all have a forward group that is bigger than the Avs defense. Moving on from Girard is about the cap. The Avs would keep a lot of players if there was no cap. Guys like Rantanen, Kadri, Compher, Burakovsky, and Coyle would all still be Avs, if the team could afford them.